All-Day Face Masking—Yes, Even at the Office—Is the Secret to Better Skin

Returning from a month of travel that included multiple long-haul flights, with stops in London and Paris and a couple of weeks spent exposed to the elements at the beach, to say that my skin was in need of some radical help as I arrived for my appointment at the new West Hollywood outpost of facial bar Heyday would have been putting it mildly. Fortunately, therapist Jenna Walsh had a clever skin-care hack up her sleeve designed to extend the benefits of my 50-minute facial. Following a deep cleanse, exfoliation, hydrating mask, and blast of collagen-building LED light therapy, Walsh finished with the obligatory application of moisturizer and SPF—this time, spiked with Alchimie Forever Kantic Brightening Moisture Mask. “So you’ll be all-day masking,” she said breezily as she sent me out the door.

After a quick check in my rearview mirror revealed nothing more than the usual plump post-facial glow, I continued onto a work lunch where my covert beauty multitasking skills elicited nothing more than a compliment on how great my skin looked. While the notion of wearing a face mask all day may seem counterintuitive—masking correlates more closely with a Netflix and chill night than a busy day at the office—the science behind it is sound, says the founder of the vegan skin-care line Orveda, Sue Y. Nabi. “Masks are more concentrated than serums yet no one would think of rinsing off a serum knowing its price and concentration,” she reasons, and recommends layering the line’s Visibly Brightening and Skin Perfecting Masque and the Ironing Effect Masque with your daily moisturizer and SPF. “Non-rinsable masks have become the new day serums.”

The whole point of all-day masking, you see, is quite the opposite of the made-to-be-seen sheet masks, rainbow-color mud masks, bubbling and magnetic masks flooding your Instagram feed. No, the goal here is that no one should be able tell you are doing it. “Masks now come in many textures from gels to creams that blend in easily with sunscreen and makeup,” says Dr. Nancy Samolitis, cofounder of Facile Dermatology in Los Angeles. “If the mask is a thicker texture, let it rest on the skin for 10 minutes and then lightly blot before applying [more products]. This will allow the active ingredients to begin to penetrate and create a protective layer.”

When it comes to choosing which mask to use, Walsh says you can use any brightening, firming, and hydrating formulas that are blend-able (avoid colored, clay, and exfoliating masks with acids or active enzymes as these are not meant to be left on the skin for an extended period of time) and to look for ingredients like collagen-boosting peptides, pollution-fighting antioxidants, moisture-retaining hyaluronic acid, and complexion-correcting arbutin. “For maintenance, I recommend a once-a-week protocol, or you can do it daily if your skin is going through a rough patch or during the cold winter months,” she adds. As I begin to book tickets for for my next bout of continent-hopping, I certainly plan to take this beauty upgrade with me.